This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: theoncologist.2008-0188v1 13/11/1193    most recent eLetters: Submit a response to this article Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services E-mail this article link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints/Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sleijfer, S. Articles by Blay, J.-Y. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sleijfer, S. Articles by Blay, J.-Y.

Sarcomas

Angiogenesis Inhibition in Non-GIST Soft Tissue Sarcomas

^aErasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; ^bRadboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; ^cCentre Léon Bérard, Lyon, France

Key Words. Soft tissue sarcoma • Angiogenesis • Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)

Correspondence: Stefan Sleijfer, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Medical Oncology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Daniel den Hoed Cancer Center, Groene Hilledijk 301, 3075 EA Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Telephone: 31-10-7041733; Fax: 31-10-7041003; e-mail: s.sleijfer{at}erasmusmc.nl

Received August 22, 2008; accepted for publication October 1, 2008; first published online in THE ONCOLOGIST Express on November 5, 2008.

Disclosure: Employment/leadership position: None; Intellectual property rights/inventor/patent holder: None; Consultant/advisory role: Jean-Yves Blay, GlaxoSmithKline; Honoraria: None; Research funding/contracted research: Stefan Sleijfer, noncommercial interest; Ownership interest: None; Expert testimony: None; Other: None.

The authors disclose that the article discusses unlabeled, investigational, or alternative use(s) of: pazopanib (GlaxoSmithKline), antiangiogenic; sorafenib (Bayer), antiangiogenic; sunitinib (Pfizer), antiangiogenic.

The content of this article has been reviewed by independent peer reviewers to ensure that it is balanced, objective, and free from commercial bias. No financial relationships relevant to the content of this article have been disclosed by the authors, planners, independent peer reviewers, or staff managers.

Because angiogenesis is of crucial importance in the pathogenesis of cancer, blocking the function of proangiogenic factors has been shown to improve the outcomes of patients with several cancer types. Given the poor survival durations of patients with advanced soft-tissue sarcomas (STSs), which has remained stable at a median of 12 months over the last 20 year, there is an unmet need for novel agents active against these tumors. Like in other tumors, accumulating evidence points at an important role for angiogenic factors in STSs, rendering these factors attractive treatment targets. This review discusses the currently available evidence supporting a role for angiogenic factors in the pathogenesis of STSs and the first preliminary study results obtained with angiogenesis inhibitors.